Voyage à vélo

22
Nov

Carnets d’Aventures is a magazine dedicated to environment-friendly trips.

Their latest edition is about Lost in the Swell, this group of adventurers who travelled for a few weeks along the Gabon coast with their fat bikes andAevon trailers looking for the best waves to surf.

They talk about their incredible journey.

Ronan, Ewen and Aurélien have known each other for more than 15 years. Quickly they found a common passion for surfing and adventure. Ronan also liked to make videos and pictures. Each summer they looked for the quietest surfing spots in Brittany. One day, dissatisfied with their daily routine, they decided to try to combine their passion for surfing with a way of life more respectful of the environment.

Their first experience took place on a deserted island in Indonesia. With 2 chickens, 10kg of rice and 40L of water, they managed to stay on this spot for 23 days, an adventure that brought them closer. The web-series that followed has a little success on the internet and pushed them to go on with their projects.

Their second experience took place on the Solomon islands for 3 months on a boat.

For their trip in Gabon, the threesome wanted to be on the coast, which helps to evaluate the surfing spots. They chose to cycle with their fat bikes with huge tyres and their STD 100 trailers equipped with huge tyres too that they adapted themselves. Each of them carried up to 70kg of equipment. Cycling was very hard in the heat and they had to stop every 15 or 20mn.

14
Nov

Very famous among environment friendly tourists, Indonesia is located between Asia and Australia. To discover all the wonders of this archipelago, why not use a bike to cycle around ?

Where can we cycle ?

Almost all islands in Indonesia can be discovered by bike. You just need to get a little far away from cities to find tracks and nice roads. These are quite calm and seldom used by motorized vehicles. On your way, you will meet the people of Indonesia but also foreigners on their bikes. The interesting thing about trips in the country is that you can stop wherever you want to admire beautiful lanscapes. Around Gunung Kawi, near Ubud, for example, you will see rice fields and sanctuaries inside the rocks. On the contrary, in cities, streets are generally crowded and traffic is difficult. You might also breathe in the fumes of cars. Not very interesting.

How to rent a bike ?

Renting a bike is quite easy in Indonesia. During your trip, you will find rental spots in big cities, especially in touristic places. If you’re in a village, check in advance if your accomodation offers this type of service during your stay in Indonesia. If you intend to go to Bali with your kids, note that it is possible to rend a MTB with a baby seat. If your kid is older, he can enjoy trips on his own little bike. Generally renting a bike costs between 25 000 and 30 000 rupees.

Some advice

You will need some accessories for your bike trips in Indonesia. In your backpack add a tube of sunscreen and a bottle of water. To complete your sunscreen, don’t forget to wear a hat or even better, a helmet. Cycle in the morning or at the end of the day to avoid the heat.

His goal was to stay for a few days in Panama City to organise his passage to Colombia by boat.

An agency offered him a trip of 5 days with a detour by the San Blas islands for 550$, a little too expensive. Finally, Santiago, a Colombian offers a departure the next day in the afternoon. Bertrand has to leave early to get to Puerto Lindo

‘To save some time on the road, I try to shorten the trip. The idea is to cycle on the highway, it will shorten the trip by 20km. In many of these countries, a bike on the highway is not unusual.

At the toll booths, the guy doesn’t even lift his eye from his phone. A few kilometers after that, I cycle past a police station on the side of the road. No reaction.

A few kilometers later, a pick up overtakes me and an officer asks me to stop… The next exit is 25km away but he asks me to get out of the highway immediately. I really need to get to the next exit. He tells me to put my bike and my STD 100 trailer in the pick up. I enjoy 25km in an air-conditionned pick up before getting back on the road under a rain that won’t leave me until I reach my destination…’

Bertrand passes by the sole WIFI post of the village, no message from Santiago, no news.
The end of day slowly arrives, he decides to go to the marina to explain his situation. The captain of the sailing boat ‘La Sangria’ accepts to take him on board.

‘I will work on the sailing boat until we reach Cartagena. The boat leaves early in the morning after a night of heavy rains, winds and thunderstorms that were raging a few days ago above the islands of Saint Martin, Saint Barth & Barbuda…’

Bertrand spends 3 days sailing between the San Blas islands with a few stops along the way to admire the landscape. On his way, he see Santiago’s boat a little farther up…
At Cartagena, it’s the day of the pope’s visit. The captain offers Bertrand to sleep on the boat as long as he needs as he’s not planning to leave until October 18th.

27
Jun

After travelling through the Andes by bike in 2015, Christophe found a new challenge : cycling from Bordeaux to Chamonix by bike and Aevon trailer and then climbing the Mont Blanc (by foot !)

In 2015, Christophe cycled for 4 months, already in the company of his STD 100 bike trailer. From Chili, he went down to Ushuaïa and then back up to Buenos Aires in Argentina. That was a perfect test for his bike and trailer, using MTB tracks and climbing very high.

The bike is a way to travel differently. According to Christophe : “cycling is an excellent way to immerse yourself in the local atmostphere.”

During this trip, there were nights in the open, lots of nice encounters and loads of effort ! Christophe and his cycling partner pedalled for 35h24, 725km and 7632m of positive difference in level. They crossed 7 different French departments.

In this Aevon trailer, you could find camping stuff : a tent, a camping stove, cooking utensils and all the essentials for a one-week trip. The STD 100 trailer was the unavoidable means of transport for this trip as : “not only is it practical, non traumatic for the bike but it also helps meeting people because it’s original and elegant“.

The STD 100 trailer can carry up to 45kg of material, perfect for two travellers. Its shock absorber makes the trip much more confortable, a real asset for long trips.

After resting for two days at their arrival at Chamonix, Christophe started to climb the Mont Blanc with a guide. Unfortunately, the trip had to stop earlier as two mountain-climber fell sick during the climb.

But no regrets for this amazing adventure that you will hear about shortly in the famous magazine Carnets d’Aventure !

13
Jun

The ViaRhôna is a cyclist path of 815km that goes from the Leman lake to the beaches of the Méditerrannée along the Rhône. There you’ll see the beautiful landscapes of the Alps, the vineyards of the famous Côtes du Rhône and the beaches of Camargue.

“We have used the trailer Bob for a few trips but this year we decided to change for the UNO 100 bike trailer to get a better handling ability.
We tested it for 10 days along the ViaRhôna with rainy days and high winds.
Well, it was a real pleasure ! Easy to use, the material is very strong and the bag is perfectly waterproof. We also found that this trailer was easier to use and to pull.

Our next project : a trip of 5 weeks in Scandinavian countries, with our UNO 100 trailer of course !”

On the Rhône bridge
Arrival at Port St Louis with a strong wind

The UNO 100 is the Aevon trailer reserved to a use on roads. It can carry up to 35kg and has a capacity of 100L.

30
Jan

Cyril and Elodie’s bike trip has started in New Zealand on the banks of the Timaru and Omarama lakes.

Their first encounters with the people were very pleasant because “the Kiwis are extraordinarily kind, welcoming, easy and patient.” To spend as much time with the New Zealanders as possible Cyril and Elodie have chosen to stay at the locals’ homes thanks to the websites Couchsurfing and Warmshowers. When they can’t find a place to stay they’ll go camping.

For the beginning of the trip the roads are quite easy to cycle, there are lots of cycle paths and the others users are patient and careful.

“The first kilometers enabled us to test the material, make some adjustments, recover from the flight and the jetlag.” In 5 days, the couple has cycled for 220km.

“The concept of city centre doesn’t really exist. It seems the English tried to establish this way of living but it didn’t work. Usually there is one main street lined with a few shops in the middle of the city, the houses are set around this main street and the farms are at the entrance and exit of the city. You won’t find a central area with restaurants and bars like in Europe !”

After stopping at Fairlie, Cyril and Elodie took the road to the lakes through the State Highway 8. Steep roads and a strong wind forced them to reduce their speed until Lake Tepako 710m high.

Then the pair reached one of the most famous bike trails in New Zealand : the ‘Alps 2 Oceans Bike Trail’ to reach lake Pukaki, the biggest lake in New Zealand with Mount Cook (3754m high) in the background.

“On the way to Omarama. To reach this village we were quite lucky : wind in our backs, a slight slope, we can cycle up to 30km/h easily, it lifts our spirits up.”

“All our stuff is easily carried in our AEVON bike trailer which follows us everywhere ! It’s really handy and completely waterproof ! Our total load was quite heavy and when we’re going downhill it doesn’t waver (up until 71km/h). The fact the trailer is suspended (with a shock absorber) is very handy as you can climb any type of obstacle without any damage to the rim or tyre. We are happy with our choice and recommend it to other bikpackers like us.
The photovoltaic panel was a brilliant idea, our GPS and phones’ batteries are always full. That’s exactly what we needed !”

02
Nov

Elodie and Cyril have launched the project ‘Retrouvailles’, a trip of about 3 years that will take them from New-Zealand to South America and then North America.

“Our project ‘Retrouvailles’ is about coming back to essential values, like living with Man and Nature (versus the need for performance, materialism, consumption …) The goal is to make a break in our intense lives dominated by work and duties and meet ourselves, individually and as a couple, as well as meeting other people.
‘Retrouvailles’ means to us : find the time to live with essential values, find ourselves back and enjoy meeting people, make discoveries of other cultures and landscapes … ”

Elodie and Cyril will travel by bike equipped with a KIT L80 trailer so they can carry up to 35kg of material and carry it on the plane as this trailer is completely foldable.

The bikes are MTB from Canyon with fully suspended frame in order to travel on all types of tracks. A little study enabled them to choose a new bike for Elodie and adapt both bikes so they can be as confortable as possible. Their goal is to live with 10€/day so they will bring a camping stove to be able to cook anywhere.
The preparation took months, an important step when the couple slowly detached itself from the material to keep only the absolutely necessary. They admit that this project brings them through different emotions : joy and excitement of course, but also fear and stress before leaving.

27
Sep

Pierre is just back from his journey through Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan with his MTB and KIT L80 bike trailer.

“Praise to the iron horse.
It dealt brilliantly with the road and made the journey all the more enjoyable. Minor servicing was enough to keep the beast going.
I saw several people who had problems, broken steel frame and broken paniers. Also, the unpaved sections were a lot smoother on my ride, especially downhills. It didn’t look enjoyable riding without suspensions. And I was much faster in rough terrains. I had a peace of mind knowing that my rig would deal with the bumps and holes and that my powerful disc brakes would not dangerously fade during long descents, as I saw riders with calipers brake struggling to slow down during long heavy braking sections.
I didn’t see anyone else with a bike trailer, and the other tourers were quite interested in my setup.
I would not change for a regular touring bike with panniers for this kind of journey.
Those who did not have problems had relatively new and expensive touring bike (they can be really expensive).”

Here is an extract from Pierre’s blog :

“Khorog

I have now reached Khorog, the biggest town in the Pamir. I have followed the valley of the Panj river for a few hundred km. On my right side was Afghanistan and what was merely more than a footpath along the river as the asphalted road I used was on the Tajik side. What a contrast. Afghan villages are beautiful and the landscape is breathtaking. There are natural springs which are a blessing, finding fresh cold water now fulfills me with joy.
I have slowed down a bit, actually no, I just ride less km per day. I don’t want to arrive tired when the climbing and altitude will get serious.

I see a lot of local people, grown ups, just waiting, sitting on their heels at the roadside, seemingly waiting for time to pass. There are a lot of children, stopping you with “hello” and “bye bye” without distinction, and recently they wanted high five, even when you are suffering like a beast in an ever so steep climb, or flying downhill. No distinction.
However, from around age 7 I would say, the kids run the business in the smallest villages. They are in charge of the food stalls, dealing with foreigners, laundry, collecting wood, shepherds, you name it. Of course adults also work, but I see a lot of child labor. It does not look terrible, and they still play, but they kind of help a lot. From what I can see of the Afghan side, there are also lots of kids, but those I see are usually bathing in the river. I saw a few times what were probably big schools for the children of the area. The Afghan wear traditional clothes. Sometimes it feels like you could touch the other side.
There is a Saturday market here in Khorog, in a no man’s land managed by customs of both countries where locals from both side can come and exchange stuff. Quite interesting. The Afghans I saw were very kind and open-minded.”

24
Aug

Meet Aevon Trailers at the Eurobike

Booth FG-A6/7

You will find the three bike trailers of the brand : the KIT L80, the STD 100 and the UNO 100.

The KIT L80 is in aluminium and has a shock absorber. Completely foldable, it will get into the trunk of your car or on the train or the plane with you.
The waterproof bag can reach a 100L capacity.

The STD 100 is in aluminium and also has a shock absorber.
Its waterproof bag an reach an exceptional capacity of 145L and can carry up to 45kg .

The UNO 100is in steel, it will be perfect for your trips on the road, as it has no shock absorber.
Its capacity is 100L.

The main feature of Aevon and which makes it a famous brand in the field of bike transport is the system of the hitch on the seat post of the bike. It gives perfect handling ability to your bike, you can make a U-turn on difficult tracks and even ride with your mountain bike.

Aevon trailers are equipped with a single-wheel, which makes it perfect in all types of situations as the trailer follows your every movement.

Finally, the Aevon brand is the only one to offer top-range models for your trips around the world when you need total trust in the material. Aluminium trailers are very strong and their frames have followed globe-trotters on the most difficult tracks : in Latin American or in the middle of Asia. The shock absorber offers great confort and is deeply appreciated by the users.

Come and meet our team during the Eurobike to discover our bikes trailers or just to share your latest travelling experience.

25
Jul

The Aevon team has developed a longer beam to adapt its trailers to more specific bikes.
Fat bikes with their big tyres and oversize frames, 29″ bikes or city bikes equipped with a rear rack will all be able to ride with an Aevon trailer.

By extending the beam, Aevon follows the trend with more and more 29″ bikes and more and more fat bikes on the market. Depending on the height of the rack, some bikes needed to remove the rack in order to adapt an Aevon trailer, this is no longer a problem.

The beam is the system connecting the frame of the trailer to the seat post of the bike. The hitch then links the beam to the seat post. This system is particularly efficient as the bike remains easy to handle in all circumstances. Mountain bikers can still ride on all types of tracks as the trailer will follow them anywhere.
The hitch rotates around the seat post, which makes it possible to make a U-turn, for example if you are riding on a narrow track :

Bike travellers choose Aevon brand so they can leave safely with a high quality material. The only remaining difficulty will be to choose between the three Aevon bike trailers, all different : the UNO 100 in steel is perfect for a road use, the STD 100 in aluminium can be used for mountain biking with a shock-absorber, the KIT L80 in aluminium is entirely foldable to follow you on the plane or other means of transport. Whatever your bike trip project, you will find the one that suits you the best.